Poverty Doesn’t Make You Kind
I could roughly guess how we looked to them.
For one thing, we stood out like a sore thumb. Unlike the others here, who looked as though they hadn’t even managed a proper wash, Jung Hayan was immaculate—so polished she almost looked made up. She was even wearing something unusually pretty.
And it wasn’t as if she was here doing volunteer work like the people who were glaring at us.
In other words, we probably looked like some spoiled young couple who’d wandered into the slums out of curiosity.
Honestly, if a riot had broken out right there and then, I wouldn’t have had much to say in my defense.
Of course, the situation never escalated to the point where the impoverished actually started pelting us with stones. In the Free City of Lindel, wearing clean clothes was practically a declaration that you were powerful, well-connected, or rich enough to buy your way out of trouble.
They were clearly thinking about the possibility that their anger might rebound on them.
That said, they weren’t exactly giving us friendly looks either.
Shit…
Of course, what sort of looks they were sending us was none of my business.
Still, it wasn’t exactly welcome news that the woman named Sun Heeyoung—apparently marked out by Kim Hyunsung—was glaring in our direction.
Jung Hayan seemed to understand that she’d made a mistake, because she kept sneaking nervous glances at me.
At last, Sun Heeyoung pushed through the crowd of slum dwellers and strode straight toward me.
I wasn’t sure if it was the right way to describe her, but she had the air of a church big sister about her. Long hair, large eyes, and the kind of face that suggested she’d never had to endure a hard day in her life.
Before I’d even finished looking away and sorting out how to fix this mess, Sun Heeyoung opened her mouth.
“You should apologize to them.”
“……”
“Take back what you said and apologize to them. No one here deserves to be insulted like that.”
Even the scouts from the various clans who’d apparently been fawning over her raised their voices.
I nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all.
“I don’t know who you are or where you’re from, but I think you’d be wise to apologize.”
“We’d appreciate it if you withdrew those remarks immediately.”
“Are you perhaps from the Blue Guild?”
I couldn’t see any Red Mercenaries or other major guilds around.
The smaller clans, on the other hand, were unexpectedly polite. The blue insignia pinned to their chests seemed to be keeping them nicely restrained.
I could kind of understand why that woman would say something like this, but the fact that the other clan and guild bastards were joining in was ridiculous.
Self-serving ambition.
Calculating analysts.
No matter how I looked at them, they didn’t seem to have much to do with volunteer work.
The uglier a person’s temperament, the louder they raised their voice.
To anyone watching, they were the righteous side, and we were the clueless couple.
The line between good and evil was drawn very clearly indeed.
Mistake?
No.
There was no way this was a mistake.
I didn’t know how long that recruitment battle had been going on, or how much progress Kim Hyunsung had made in trying to court this woman, but with that many competitors in the first place, there was no way a proper recruitment offer could have any effect.
This probably wasn’t a one- or two-day problem either.
For some reason, I could picture it in my head.
For this woman, the top priority was rescuing the poor.
Since she was busy devoting herself to that, there was no way she could join a clan or guild and head out on expeditions.
It took only an instant for a completely different approach to spring into my head.
Bringing Jung Hayan a little closer by the shoulder, looking a bit deflated, I slowly opened my mouth.
“I won’t be withdrawing it.”
“Y-you won’t?”
“I said I won’t be withdrawing it.”
“W-what do you mean by—”
“I don’t think I was wrong to call people who sit around doing nothing and eating what others hand them over to the dog and pig category.”
“What exactly are you saying? Y-you’re… from the Blue Guild, aren’t you?”
“My affiliation has nothing to do with what I’m saying. Whether I’m with Blue or not isn’t important. This is simply my own personal opinion, completely unrelated to the guild.”
“There are things you can say and things you can’t. You know nothing about this place. Just because you’re wearing nice clothes and standing in a good position doesn’t mean you have the right to criticize them.”
I let the silence stretch for a moment. That seemed to embolden her, because Sun Heeyoung continued.
“Not everyone here chose this willingly. Everyone has their own circumstances; they were forced into this situation. One small mistake on this continent can cost you your life. Someone like you, with special talents and contacts from a good guild, living life more or less as you please, could never understand them.”
When she brought up special talent, I almost snorted.
But the part about living life more or less as I pleased made my brow crease a little.
“That’s funny.”
“What?”
“I haven’t been here very long, but I’m pretty sure I’ve lived at least ten times more fiercely than any of the people standing over there. I imagine the same goes for everyone here. And probably for the clan members you can see as well. They’ve earned their positions by risking their lives on hunts, taking whatever hard, filthy work they could find, and surviving however they could. No one wants to die. Likewise, no one wants to work.”
“Ah….”
“I’m the same. I nearly died several times before I earned my way into Blue. Those people over there are probably the type who’ve never wagered a single thing for their own lives.”
“That isn’t true. These people….”
“Why.”
“……”
“Why do they look the way they do? I think I can roughly guess.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The one who made them this way is you.”
Her face was one of pure nonsense, as if I’d just said something insane.
But if I thought about it calmly, I wasn’t wrong.
“You’re the one who domesticated them. You fed them, gave them shelter, handed them clothes. You made them tame. You’re the one who turned them into losers.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about—what exactly are you saying? You said you haven’t been here very long. You don’t know the city’s current condition, so how can you say something like that…? The reason the slums exist isn’t because of me. It’s because of people like y-you.”
I didn’t know the details.
Still, I knew people like her very well.
“Ah, I see. You mean the people who are living so diligently.”
“I’m not talking about people who are living diligently. People like you—people who look down on those beneath them, despise them, and care only about your own gain—are the ones rotting Lindel from the inside.”
That wasn’t exactly wrong.
But I wasn’t about to accept it just like that.
“I’ve never taken advantage of others for my own gain. Some people might feel that way, but… I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. The people you should be helping aren’t these folks here. They’re adventurers risking their lives on expeditions and laborers working in grueling conditions.”
It was sophistry.
Of course it was sophistry, and it could easily sound like bullshit.
Needless to say, I didn’t object to volunteer work itself. On the contrary, I respected people like this on a personal level.
But this woman’s method was wrong.
Temperament.
An idealistic volunteer?
Maybe she was the type who did charity for the sake of charity.
“I think I understand what you’re trying to say. You’re about to trot out that tired line about how you shouldn’t give a man a fish, but teach him how to fish instead. At the very least, someone like you—someone who’s doing nothing—has no right to say that. Your words have no weight when you’re doing nothing for these people.”
“I came here to take action.”
“What…?”
I let the corners of my lips lift just slightly.
“I’ll hire everyone here.”
“What?”
“I’m saying I’ll hire everyone here. It won’t be dangerous work. But it may be hard work, so don’t worry too much. If you can move your body, there’s work you can do. I’ll pay you above minimum wage, too.”
“Uh….”
“It’s a chance to break out of this state and get back on your feet. I can’t provide lodging, but I can provide lunch.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Whether you stay here clinging to others or live as a proper member of society is your choice. It’s time to stand on your own. All of you.”
I quietly looked around.
It was silent.
Then, starting with one person who mustered up the courage, questions began to come in.
“Can you tell us what kind of work it is?”
“Just simple work that isn’t dangerous. I can promise there won’t be any danger. Think of it as manual labor.”
“The pay…?”
“I’ll give you one gold. If overtime is required, I’ll make sure to pay extra allowance as well. An eight-hour workday seems appropriate.”
In no time at all, a buzz of voices spread through the crowd.
“If you can’t trust me, I’ll appoint this woman here as a consultant for our company. That way you can feel reassured.”
“I never said I’d do it!”
“Wouldn’t you want to see what I’m up to?”
“Th-that’s true, but….”
“This is an opportunity for you. Even people with physical limitations can do this work. Yes. Of course they can.”
The fact that I’d said I’d appoint Sun Heeyoung as a consultant for the company was probably the decisive blow.
People slowly began to raise their hands.
“I’ll do it.”
“I-I’ll do it too.”
“Me too….”
“If-if you’ll take me, I’ll work hard.”
Seeing one person after another raise their hands made me feel fantastically satisfied.
So did the looks of disbelief from Sun Heeyoung and the other clan bastards.
“Work will begin tomorrow. It’s simple enough, so just show up by nine in the morning with your bodies and nothing else.”
“Yes.”
By this point, Sun Heeyoung seemed embarrassed by what she’d said earlier.
But she still didn’t look like she trusted me entirely.
Whether she believed me or not didn’t really matter.
After giving Jung Hayan a light pat on the head—she looked a little wary of Sun Heeyoung—I turned on my heel without a shred of regret. She quietly approached me, then opened her mouth very slowly.
“I-I’m not sure what I should say, but… for now, th-thank you. But….”
“I don’t really understand what you think you have to be thankful for.”
“Huh?”
“You don’t need to be thankful. Either way….”
“……”
“Nothing’s really going to change.”
“What are you talk—”
“I said it clearly before.”
“What?”
“You’re the one who domesticated them.”
Whether those people were truly domesticated by Sun Heeyoung or not wasn’t the important part.
Either way, that was how they were going to come to see it.